Negro league experts needed NEWARK DODGERS

[GrayGhost]

Just purchased a vintage cap from the NEWARK DODGERS according to the seller. Does anyone have a picture of the teams caps, so I can compare the logos and such? Thank you. Scott

[Chris Counts]

Scott, can you post a photo? Here's the best image I can find of the real deal. I've never actually seen a Negro League cap offered, especially from a team that existed only briefly in the mid-1930s. I see that Ray Dandridge played for them, so you might look at pictures of him for an example of the cap. As a cap collector, I'm aware of how rare any cap from the 1930s is. I'm naturally very skeptical of any claim made about a rare cap, since I see them misrepresented on eBay and by auction houses all the time.

[GrayGhost]

Of course the picture isn't in color The cap is a dirty goldish color. Here is a picture. the "D" looks accurate. Yes, Id love this to be what it could be. Thanks for your post/reply Chris.

[Chris Counts]

As much as I am rooting for this cap to be something special, I suspect it's an amateur or youth cap from the 1950s or 1960s, based on the thin leather band, course material and elastic back.

As a cap collector, I constantly struggle to identify what I have. It seems to me that without a good photo match, it's just speculation. For this one, that would require finding a photo of a lighter colored cap being used by the Newark Dodgers, and dating its various details to how caps were made in the mid-1930s.

I bought a bunch of caps from a major Ebay seller a few years ago, and he gave a precise description for every cap. Nearly all were way off, including a "1960s Japanese cap," which turned out to be a 1938 Boston Bees game cap. Some people just make stuff up, including several major sellers. I do believe it's on the seller to back up any claim they make about an item, if their are any doubts about it being true.

This site is the most useful one I've found when it comes to dating caps. It's just MLB caps, but there are a lot of good images of caps from the 1930s for comparison ...

https://mlbcollectors.com/MLBcapindex.php

[ebbets58]

The cap in the actual player photo is obviously a dark cap (likely navy blue or royal blue) while you describe your cap as gold. Unless the fabric has faded that much, I don't see this as being a genuine Newark Dodgers cap. I am the founder of Ebbets Field Flannels and have studied Negro Leagues caps for 30 years. Also, your cap has the elastic sweatband which no real player cap from the 1930s had, but is consistent with souvenir caps from the 1960s.